1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a welding gun and, more specifically, to an in-line MIG welding gun.
2. Description of the Related Art
A MIG welding gun generally comprises a handle, a wire feed mechanism, a motor for driving the wire feed mechanism and a torch barrel. The welding gun typically also includes a gas tube and a cooling fluid tube for supplying gas and cooling fluid to the tip of the torch barrel.
There are two general types of welding guns: pistol grip and in-line welding guns. In a pistol grip gun, the motor is located below the wire feed mechanism and lies along an axis that lies generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the gun. In contrast, in an in-line gun, the motor lies along the longitudinal axis of the gun and is positioned generally behind the wire feed mechanism.
Torch barrels may be straight or curved (e.g., “goose necked”) depending upon the type of welding to be accomplished and the preferences of the welder. In some arrangements, the welding gun is configured such that the operator can change the angular position of a curved barrel relative to the wire feed mechanism. Such welding guns generally require relatively complicated connections between the torch barrel and the gas and cooling fluid tubes. In contrast, welding guns in which the torch barrel is stationary are relatively less complicated and expensive. As such, welding guns with stationary torch barrels are particularly popular.